Farmers Market returns to Mount Clemens

Angela Reed of Chesterfield Township and her daughters Leah, 3, and Paige, 5, pot flowers with the help of Gary Baarck of Mount Clemens. The free flower-planting event was to celebrate the opening day for the Mount Clemens Farmers market. The Macomb Daily/DAVID DALTON

If the first robin, the Masters and the Run for the Roses weren’t enough to convince you, another sure sign of spring was on display this weekend.

The Mount Clemens Farmers Market returned for its 34th year, as food and plant growers from northern Macomb County converged on the city bringing their wares.

On Saturday, beneath partly cloudy skies and temperatures north of 65 degrees, the return of the market to its home along North River Road just east of downtown was welcome by farmers and customers alike.

Dozens of visitors browsed among the offerings, which at this early stage of the season consisted mostly of flowers and plants.

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“I enjoy the market,” said John Bruff, a retired Macomb County judge. “This is a large crowd for opening day.”

Anne Catalfio of Harrison Township said she and her family plan to become regulars at the Mount Clemens Farmers Market.

“It’s all local produce and a community atmosphere,” she said.

Ann Birdseye, also of Harrison Township, stopped by a stall operated by Jenuwine Farms in Armada to purchase several plots of flowers. Birdseye said she annually plants the flowers around her lake front home.

A regular at the market, Birdseye also looks forward to later in the season when the farmers add fruits and vegetables to their product lines.

“This is a great day,” she said.

Ken Schleicher of Clinton Township likes the idea of buying fresh vegetables in the morning and enjoying them that evening for dinner.

“We take it home, cook it and eat it,” he said.

Dale Jenuwine, 74, said he’s worked his family’s farm “my entire life.” For the past 34 years, he has brought the fruits and vegetables, and plants of his labors to Mount Clemens on weekends from May through October.

Market customers prefer locally grown fresh products to those available elsewhere, he said.

“They know where it’s coming from,” Jenuwine said. “They can ask a question and get a straight answer.”

Years ago, Jenuwine said, his clientele was primarily older men and women, many of whom grew up on farms. But he has seen the demographics change noticeable over the past decade or so.

“Food safety has gotten more important,” he said. “Now, more younger parents are concerned about what their children are eating.”

The Mount Clemens Farmers Market is in the Mount Clemens Park and Ride parking lot, 141 N. River Road, Mount Clemens. Hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through October.